Lily's First Year
by Asia Elizabeth
Summary: This story is about Lily Evans (Harry's Mum) in her first year of Hogwarts. lease read it and tell me what you think of it.
1. Chapter 1

  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
_ (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,   
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

  
Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. 

  
Yours Sincerely,   
Deputy Headmistress

  
  
Lily looked at the envelope with a hint of shock. A grin was slowly forming on her lips but words refused to form in her mind.   
  
At last she found them as she looked up at her mum, her shimmering, emerald green eyes wide, "Mum! I'm a witch!"  
  
Mrs. Evans looked at her daughter with concern. "A-witch, dear?"  
  
"Yeah! Look! There's a special school where I go to learn magic! That letter I got this morning is from the Deputy Headmistress. I've been accepted! Oh, can't I go, Mum, please?!"  
  
"Can I see that letter, Lily?" asked her mother, now smiling.   
  
Lily handed her mother the paper and waited for her response with bated breath. As Mrs. Evans read her eyes also grew very wide. Her expression went from amusement, to nervousness, to what seemed a bit like astonishment.   
  
"Well dear... I-I suppose that it's all right with me. If you want to go-"  
  
"Oh I do mum!" Lily said, jumping up from the chair she'd been frozen in.  
  
"But Lily, I don't know how we'd get your school things. They aren't just the same old thing that I can get anywhere, and I'm not sure how they want us to respond. It says something about owls here, it doesn't make sense to me at all," both Lily and Mrs. Evans frowned.  
  
Mrs. Evans laid the letter down on the coffee table of the living room and sighed. She could see her younger daughter's disappointment and searched her mind for something that would cheer her up for a short time. But at that moment, terrible screeches interrupted her thoughts.   
  
"ARGH! GET OUT YOU FILTHY BIRD! MUMMMMM!" Petunia, Lily's 13-year-old sister was screaming at the top of her lungs, as was something else.   
  
Lily and her mother ran up the stairs to the source of the noise. Petunia was still yelling and thrashing wildly at a terrified looking ball of feathers.   
  
"PETUNIA!" Mrs. Evan's shouted over the ruckus.   
  
Lily had managed to steer the owl towards her. She cradled the disheveled bird in her arms and carried it down the stairs. Filling a tea saucer with cool water, she set the owl on the kitchen counter and let it drink and recover.  
  
She could hear her mother trying to lecture and calm her sister at the same time. Lily smiled and peeked into the room. Petunia scowled at her. Petunia always scowled at her.  
  
"I hear you're officially a freak now. Off to turn people into frogs?" Petunia's voice was shrill and haughty.  
  
Lily frowned at her, "You're just jealous because you're ordinary."  
  
She turned her nose up and walked back down the stairs to check on the owl. It fluttered to her arm and cooed affectionately at her. It was holding an envelope in it's beak addressed to Lily.   
  
"What's this?" she asked smiling as she took the envelope with the hand that the owl wasn't occupying.  
  
The owl flew up so Lily could read her letter, and a smile had spread from her eyes to her lips as she read. She ran up the steps to her sister's room where Petunia was now sitting on her bed, her long, bony face grinning with satisfaction.   
  
"So you can't get to the freak school?" she said with a cruel smile dancing in her eyes.   
  
"I just got another letter about it. Where's mum?" Lily replied, still grinning.  
  
"She's in her room. What are you so happy about, then?" Petunia snapped.  
  
Lily turned and bolted towards her mother's bedroom.   
  
"Mum! I can still go! I've just gotten a letter! The owl that was in Petunia's room brought it for me!"  
  
Mrs. Evans smiled very brightly as well. She stood up to see the piece of thick paper in Lily's hand, and reached to take it. The letter was written on the same stationary as the other letter had been, and was also from Professor Minerva McGonagall.   
  
"Dear Miss Potter, After reviewing our potential students list, we have found that you are from an entirely muggle (non-magical) home. In light of this, you have been paired with a wizarding family. This is so you may purchase your supplies for this school year if you choose to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and also so that you might learn a bit more about the magical community before the year begins.   
  
"The family is that of Mr. James Potter, Sr., Mrs. Patricia Potter and their son, James Potter, Jr.-That's awfully nice of them isn't it?"   
  
"Very. It says that I can send word with the owl that they sent here if I'm going or not. That way they can let the Potter's know if they're supposed to help me."   
  
"Oh look, dear," she pointed to the next line. "James is going to be a first year as well. Maybe you'll have a class together. It'd be nice to have someone you know there."   
  
"Right. We'd better send that owl mum," she changed the subject disinterestedly.   
  
"Alright then," said Mrs. Evans.   
  
She seated herself at her desk, and removed a box of strong stationary and a pen.   
  
Speaking as she scrawled neatly on the envelope, she said, "Dear Professor McGonagall, thank you for your time and consideration.   
  
"Lily is delighted for the upcoming school year and quite pleased to be starting as a first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please thank the Potter's for taking time to help Lily. I would like very much to be in contact with them to thank them directly as well. Yours Sincerely, Rose Evans."   
  
Lily was beaming. Petunia, who was now in the doorway, was glowering. It was already promising to be a very intersting school year.   
  
_The first letter was the same as that which Harry eventually recieved. The picture of Professor McGonagall's signature appears in the books, and was taken from http://www.harry_potter_at_hogwarts.homestead.com's picture section. thank you to both J.K. Rowling and the owner of this website. thank you!_   
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

__

AN: Thank you all for the great response, my muse was quite pleased to hear from you all, so as you've put her in such a good mood, she's decided to continue telling me the story.

"Oh, that's excellent timing. Petunia's just received her supplies list for Rowlings School as well," said Mrs. Evans over a piece of thick parchment paper.

"What, mum?" asked Lily, hearing her mother speaking to no one in particular. Lily again found herself playing with an owl, this time a large, fluffy gray one. 

"Mrs. Potter has sent me a letter. She said that she was going to take James shopping for his school things this weekend and that she would be happy to bring you along and you can stay with them. You're going to meet them in London, and I can take Petunia for her things as well." Mrs. Evans smiled brilliantly.

"Mum, London is almost an hour away!" Lily whined. 

The thought of being forced in the car with her elder sister for forty-five minutes was heart breaking. Lily, however, was quickly reminded that the Potter's were doing a huge favor, and if they were not, she would probably be spending not only the entire day with Petunia, but also the whole year. Suddenly, forty –five minutes seemed like nothing. 

The week passed very slowly and with no interesting factors to make it less boring. Petunia had taken to calling Lily "freak" and "witch" at every opportunity. She spat the words as though they were the most disgusting things that could be uttered with out criminal offense. Lily only smiled at her. 

At last Sunday had arrived. The weekend before school began was at last on hand. Mrs. Potter had said that she and James would meet Lily outside of a large bookstore, across from a large record shop. She looked quite anxious, twirling a strand of her light brown hair around her index finger. Mrs. Evans was smiling at her, while looking out for the Potters. 

After five minutes, a dark haired woman with a cheery disposition and a boy with messy black hair, who was about Lily's age, appeared. They both had the same friendly brown eyes, and pleasant smile. 

"You must be the Potters. I'm Rose Evans, and these are my daughters, Petunia and Lily. Say hello girls." Mrs. Evans urged her daughters forward.

Lily smiled nervously as she stepped forward, and extended a hand to Mrs. Potter, "Hello."

Petunia gave her familiar scowl and murmured, "'lo", not daring to offer her hand to a strange woman who openly admitted she was abnormal. 

Mrs. Potter shook Lily's hand, still smiling. They agreed that they would all meet for dinner in muggle London at five o'clock.

"We'd better be off then," said Mrs. Potter, checking her watch.

"Alright. See you at five!" waved Mrs. Evans. 

Mrs. Potter steered Lily and James to a small run down looking pub that Lily hadn't noticed at all when she had first passed it to get the bookshop. They walked in with the jingle of bells. Mrs. Potter waves to the almost toothless barkeeper and continued towards a brick wall. She opened her purse and removed a highly polished ruler-length stick.

"Three up, second on the left she muttered, as she traced the bricks with the stick. 

She tapped on three times and it formed from a small hole into a large archway, revealing a large crowded street. People of all ages were walking around, talking about things that Lily had never heard of. 

"I can't wait for Quidditch try outs! I hope I'm made seeker!" said one boy, about Petunia's age to his friend.

"The mandrake extract! We forgot to get it at the apothecary!" said a tall, grumpy looking woman. 

Many people were wearing long swishing coloured robes. Others wore regular clothes. Lily thought that they must be the ones who were around muggles more often than other witches. The Potters were wearing muggle clothing, probably to seem more normal on the regular London streets. 

"Well, shall we to Gringotts?" asked Mrs. Potter.

"What's that?" asked Lily quietly. 

James looked as though he might laugh, but only smiled more broadly and said, "It's the Wizards bank. We don't have the same money as the muggles. Don't worry though, my dad wrote to your parents and they all got a vault set up for you."

Lily smiled as he relieved her nervousness. She already liked the Potters; they seemed like very thoughtful people. She was quite glad that they'd thought ahead. They were walking into a building of snow-white brick and lily saw a statue that looked like nothing she'd seen before.

"What is that thing?" she pointed at the statue.

"It's a goblin," James said quietly. "They run the bank. They're a bit creepy if you ask me."

Lily nodded in agreement not taking her eyes off of the statue until she tripped on the steps into the building.

"Ohh," she sighed softly. 

Her face had turned a bright scarlet colour. Both James and Mrs. Potter had knelt beside her to be sure she was all right. She smiled weakly at them and accepted James hand up. Lily's emerald eyes twinkled with a giggle at her own expense.

James was eyeing her curiously. She began to giggle harder and he also joined in the laughter. They were finally able to calm down after the first goblin doorman ushered them into the bank. 

"They have security systems?" Lily asked curiously after reading the engraved warning to bank robbers. "It says 'Thief, beware, you'll fine more than treasure there.' "

He looked at her smiling in amusement, "Goodness, you are a muggle. They've got all kinds of security there. Curses, and dragons and all sorts of things."

"Wow," she breathed with amazement.

Mrs. Potter smiled at them. It was a perfect picture of innocent amusement. She went to the goblin behind the teller's counter and told them what she was looking for.

"All right James, Lily. This way, we've got to go down to the vaults," she called.

The ride to the vaults was worse even than the huge, loop-filled roller coaster that Petunia had once forced her to go on. It was very fast and very long. Blurs went by on tracks in a very dark and dank cavern-like passage. When finally they had gotten their money and left the bank, they had to sit for a few moments to collect their stomachs and heartbeats. 

Their next stop was to a very crowded bookshop, where they were almost immediately pointed towards the books they needed. 

"First years?" asked a very tired looking employee. 

Both nodded. The clerk gestured to a shelf where four other children their age were picking up previously arranged sets of books. 

They were rather anxious to get out of the shop when it was so crowded. They each took a stack of books, paid and quickly made their ways out, with only a short stop, in which James stood to gawk at a book with a wizard in very bright orange robes flying toward a small gold thing with fluttery silver wings. 

After they had left, Lily asked, "What was that book about?"

"What book?" James asked bewildered.

"The one with the brooms. Wait. Why was the picture on that book moving!?" Lily asked with a surprised voice.

She looked down to see that the pictures on all of her textbooks were moving a bit. It was one of the strangest things she'd seen all day, and it had been a very strange day so far. James however, paid the moving pictures no mind and once again looked thoroughly amused with Lily.

"The book was about Quidditch. It's a really popular sport that's played on brooms. I want to play at Hogwarts, but I don't reckon I'll get the chance my first year. And about the pictures, you don't expect them to just… sit there, do you? I mean, they'd get frightfully bored, don't you think?"

"Muggle pictures just sit still. In Quidditch, they fly on broomsticks? Oh that would be so great. Have you ever flown at all?" she asked interestedly.

"Yeah, all the time. It's really fun. Too bad, first years aren't allowed brooms. We're supposed to learn 'properly' first." He sighed dramatically.

"Alright, why don't you two give me your lists, I'll go get your things from the apothecary, and you can be fitted for your uniforms and then your wands," Mrs. Potter said, once again checking her watch.

"Alright mum. We'll see you at Ollivander's then?" asked James.

"Yes, but it's getting a bit late, let's be going," she said hurriedly.

Lily and James jogged towards a shop with a sign that read "Madam Balkan's Robes for All Occasions". James led her inside and they stood waiting for a moment.

A plump, friendly, little witch in mauve robes called, "Just a moment, my dears!" and stuck a last pin into the robes of a very unhappy looking boy with dark, greasy hair. She waved her wand and took the robes that she had tailored and added them to a package. The boy scowled at James and Lilt and walked out. 

"Alright then, you two." She stood them on stools and measured them. A short while later, they were fitted with their Hogwarts robes and also making their way out.

"Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands." Lily read, "since 382 BC. I'd hate to have to trace that back." Lily murmured.

James stifled a laugh, but as he opened the door they fell completely silent. They felt a sort of tingling in the air. It was similar to excitement; a feeling that was no longer contained but floating everywhere around them in the dusty shop. An old man with shining slivery eyes walked from a back room. 

"Hello, young Potter. My you look just like your father. And who is your companion?" he asked.

"Lily Evans," she said quietly.

"Alright, Lily Evans. Why don't you have a seat while we find a wand for Mr. Potter, or rather, while a wand for Mr. Potter finds him," he said in an eerie tone.

Lily a little and had a seat in the corner, watching James stand nervously before the old man. Mr. Ollivander had a silver marked tape measure draped over James's right arm. 

Mr. Ollivander lifted his head quickly and walked to a shelf. He chose a small stack of boxes and carried them to the spot where James seemed to have become rooted. 

"We'll see how much you truly do resemble your father, Mr. Potter. Twelve inches, Beech wood, phoenix father," he said.

James took the wand and gave it a wave looking rather uncomfortable. The old man quickly took it away and replaced it with another one.

This time, when James waved the wand, red sparks flew from the tip. Mr. Ollivander smiled with a bit of satisfaction. Lily was now standing nervously as James sat holding the box containing his wand very carefully.

"He'll be a strong wizard. Mahogany, eleven inches, phoenix tail feather. Yes, it's a strong combination. Good for complex magic. Now how about you, Lily Evans?"

He walked to the back room and returned with a slightly larger stack of boxes. Setting them down on a rather creaky wicker chair he removed the first wand.

"Hmm, eight inches, holly, dragon heart strings. Seems like it might be a good fit." He muttered.

She gave the wand a bit of a wave but nothing happened. He took it and went on to the next. And then the next.

She went through three, then five, then eight. Lily sighed, and began to wonder if there was actually any magic in her or if maybe there had just been a mistake. Mr. Ollivander looked a bit tired, but determined.

"Yes! Perhaps that's just what you need young lady!" he said as he walked quickly to the nearby shelf. "Give this a wave."

She took the wand, and a warm feeling swept her. The feeling that surrounded the shop had entered her through her fingertips. She smiled as she waves the wand and a spray of serene blue coloured sparks shimmered out of the tip.

"Perfect! This is quite an interesting wand, Lily Evans. It contains two hairs from the mane of a unicorn, one is golden, taken when it was a foal, the other is silver, just after it's horn had grown. The willow, of course, was the only possible choice to hold such a sweet combination. It fits you well, at ten and a quarter. You'll do quite well with this." 

Lily beamed. She felt quite fond of this wand already. It was calm, and had a very sweet story to it. James smiled as well; he seemed pleased with both outcomes. The two paid their seven galleons and left the shop to see Mrs. Potter carrying two bird cages with clothes draped over them.

"Mum! You wouldn't believe how long it took Lily to get her wand!" cried James. 

Lily blushed, "Well, I like it. I'm sorry to take so long though."

"It's alright dear," she said giving James a reprimanding look. "Well, I've got something for both of you!"

She handed each of them a birdcage. Lily lifted the fabric to see a small, snow-white owl with its tiny head buried beneath its wing. She grinned. James's owl was slightly larger and gray and his expression matched Lily's almost exactly.

"Thank you mum!" said James 

"Yeah, thank you so much Mrs. Potter!" Lily said happily.

"In my letter to your mother I mentioned that I would be getting one for James so that it would be easier for hi to stay in contact with us. Your mother said that it was a wonderful idea and asked that I save some money from your vault to do the same. I'm very glad you like it." Mrs. Potter was beaming at them.

"Well, we'd better get back. Why don't we stop at the Leaky Cauldron and put our things away and then we can go and meet your family, Lily."

So off they went, and Lily discovered, that it was possible to enjoy herself with Petunia around. Mr. Potter (who did look very much like James) and Mr. Evans were both there, talking cheerfully about how proud they were of their children. Petunia had been staring at her chicken as though she was trying to cook it with her eyes. 

That night, Lily hugged and kissed her parents good bye, after the promise of regular owls and excellent behavior. She could hardly sleep after packing her trunk full with books and scales, potion ingredients, robes, and a cauldron. Her wand was the last thing to be placed in before she shut and locked it. After giving her owl of soft scratch on the head, she finally lay down and tried to get to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Lily found herself being shaken awake very early the next morning. Her owl was hooting softly as to encourage who ever was shaking her. Her eyes fluttered open and she yelped.

"Good morning!" said James enthusiastically.

"Is the sun even up yet?" Lily asked, as she tugged on the blankets that had been pulled away from her.

"Nope! It's only six. I thought that you'd want to wake up though." He was grinning.

Lily suppressed the urge to kick him. She sat up in retreat, and adjusted the messy bun that she had put her long hair into the night before. 

"And why did you think that I would want to do that?" she asked in an almost-too-sweet tone.

"Well, I was going to go and see my friend Sirius, he's coming to Hogwarts too, and I thought you'd want to meet him!" James now looked beside himself with glee.

Lily flopped back on her bed, but then managed to sort of roll out from it. She stood up and lightly pushed James out of her room, assuring him that she wasn't going back to sleep, only getting dressed. 

A few moments later she appeared in a black sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans, her hair was tied up in bun that was only slightly neater than it had previously been. She looked very sleepy. With a yawn and a tug on her arm, the two were walking down Diagon Alley. 

They had reached the out door tables of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor (which was not yet open) and found a boy looking as sleepy as Lily was. James had to be the one who'd come up with the brilliant plan to meet at the crack of dawn. 

"Sirius!" he called as though the street was crowded and noisy and he was at a distance, rather than almost deserted and only a few yards away. 

Lily sniggered. Sirius sat up in alarm. He shot James a sleepy smile, and then rested his head in his arms on the table.

"Come on, Sirius, get up!" James shook him, as he had Lily. 

Seconds later he was struggling to get up off of the ground. Sirius had tackled him.

Lily was now laughing so hard that she had to gasp for breath. Sirius stood up and helped James up as well. He was studying her suspiciously, and giving James curious looks out of the corner of his eye.

"Who's your friend?" he asked in a demanding tone.

"Lily Evans. She's going to be a first year too. Lily was our muggle." James said smiling.

Lily shot daggers at him with her eyes. Sirius also looked thoroughly unimpressed with his friend's choice of words. 

"That was badly put James. You know how some people are, you don't want your friends to start thinking that you agree with that sort of rubbish." Sirius spoke rather threateningly to his friend.

"I didn't mean… oh fine," he glanced at Lily, "Sorry."

"'Salright, "she said quietly as she slid into a seat at the table Sirius had been occupying. 

Sirius sat down at the table, and now smiled politely at Lily. He had dark drown hair that was slightly longer and neater than James's, as well as blue gray eyes that were gleaming cheerfully behind something that seemed slightly stern.

"So, as our misguided friend has been led off topic," Sirius began, "We haven't been _properly_ introduced. 

"Sirius Black," he smiled holding out his hand. 

Lily shook his hand gently and smiled, "Lily Evans. I'm very pleased to meet you."

"James, now that you seem to have recovered from your lack of manners, you may take a seat with us."

James sat between Sirius and Lily at the circular table. They began talking about Quidditch and about things that Lily had never seen before. She explained things about muggle life, like electricity and television. They told her about their families, and things that had been in the Wizard news.

"Yes, the Ministry's talking about electing a new Minister of Magic. They won't do anything for ages though. Take forever with the littlest thing," said James casually.

"Ministry?" Lily asked, once again feeling out of place.

"Yeah, Ministry of Magic. They're the ones who make all the laws for our world, you know, so we won't go and make it obvious we're around, and so the muggles are okay, and all that," he explained.

"Muggles would be pretty scared if they knew we were around. Trained wizards can do some very scary things. A lot of people don't like muggle born wizards, they think that they aren't 'pure' enough or some rubbish. Some even try to…" Sirius trailed off after he saw the look on Lily's face. "But that doesn't matter."

Lily tried to smile, but she now felt nervous, especially as she realized that is was becoming increasingly crowded on the street.

"Omigosh! Sirius, James! It's almost nine o'clock! The train for Hogwarts leaves at eleven!" She cried, looking at her watch.

They stood up quickly (Sirius's chair had tipped over in the process) and ran towards the Leaky Cauldron where a very anxious looking Mrs. Potter was waiting at the archway.

"James Potter, Sirius Black and Lily Evans, where on Earth have you been! Come on, take some toast and get your things!" Mrs. Potter urged them. 

Lily ran up the stairs and quickly threw the last of her things in to her open trunk, then locked it tightly shut. She took the hook of her owl cage and one of her trunk handles and some how managed to inch her things down the stairs in less than eight minutes. James and Sirius were standing with half eaten pieces of toast in their hands.

About ten minutes later, they were all piled into a large taxi. Mrs. Potter was sitting in front with the nervous driver. Sirius was fiddling with the handle of a wicker work basket and on either side of him, Lily and James were peeking out the window around their birdcages. The trunk was weighted with their school things. Lily sighed wishing that she had remembered to take a piece of toast before they left. 

The taxi arrived at King's Cross station with about ten minutes to spare. Mrs. Potter helped them heft their things onto a cart and walked them towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"I thought. Oh that can't be right…" said Lily softly.

"Lily, dear. Platform –" Mrs. Potter had begun calling to her, but realized what she was about to say. She stood, apparently giving instructions to James and Sirius and then walked quickly over to Lily.

"Lily, I'll help you onto the platform. You need to pretend that the barrier isn't there. Come along." Mrs. Potter led her towards the barrier, and then leaned casually against it, her hand gripped firmly on Lily shoulder. 

They seemed to have slipped through the wall. In front of them an old fashioned looking Platform appeared. A large, red steam engine was on the tracks, looking as though it were just about to set off. 

"Have a good term!" she said, hugging them tightly. "Do write if you need anything!" 

She hurried them onto the train, just as the last whistle sounded. Their trunks had been placed in compartments and their pets had begun responding to the loud calls around them. They could feel it begin to move and hear the parents outside calling their final good-byes as they searched for an emptier car.

They found themselves seated in the last car of the train, joined by a small, chubby boy who was looking quite nervous and a thin, handsome boy with very dark blonde hair and gray eyes. 

"Hi," said the handsome boy to Lily, James and Sirius. "I'm Remus Lupin, and that's Peter Pettigrew. We're first years."

"I'm Sirius Black, and this lovely lady is Lily Evans," she blushed furiously, "and this lovely young man is James Potter," he took a trash at him.

"We're first years too," said Lily quietly, now feeling a bit self-conscious.

"Great, maybe we'll be in the same house!" said Remus. 

Sirius and James had explained how people were sorted into houses at Hogwarts, but neither of them knew how the sorting went of what they had to do to be sorted. They all agreed that it would be a great thing to be in the same house.

They were just sitting down to a game of Exploding Snap (except for Lily who had decided that she would just watch the first round), when the door of the car slid open. A familiar boy with greasy black hair and pale skin walked in. He looked at them with a sneer.

"If it isn't Black and Potter, the two man clown act," he said with a nasty edge in his voice.

"Shove off, Snape," said James with out looking up.

"I just wanted to meet the filthy little mudblood you were dragging around London yesterday," said the boy casually.

Sirius shot up and grabbed him by the collar; James was standing behind him. Both were looking rather livid.

"Watch your tongue, Severus," growled Sirius. 

He shoved the boy against the wall of the car. The boy seemed to realize how much smaller he was than both Sirius and James. A look of concern crossed his face, but he seemed to push it away quickly and drawled on.

"What? Do you two fancy her? Potter, have you got a crush on the little piece of muggle trash?" He shoved his full weight towards them trying to push them off.

Sirius slammed the boy's head against the wall. 

"Better muggle born, then 'pure blood' trash that doesn't know when to keep his filthy mouth shut," James snapped as he swung a fist at Severus.

"Stop it!" Lily cried. She and Remus were trying to pull them back. 

Severus gave her a very nasty glare as Sirius' hands slipped away from his neck, and he bolted out.

"Why'd you stop us! That filthy git deserved anything he got!" cried James.

Lily looked at them frowning; "You would have gotten in much more trouble than he did. I know you were just trying to stick up for me, but I didn't want you expelled before we even got to school."

They were quiet for the rest of the afternoon. Lily had lost her appetite when the witch who was pushing the snack cart came in a short while after the fight had broken up. The boys all returned to their game, eating Cauldron Cakes and Chocolate Frogs happily. Lily, however, spent the remainder of the trip watching the now stormy countryside fly by through the window.


	4. Chapter 4

"Lily, wake up," a familiar voice said. 

It was the second time that day that had been woken up this way. She looked worse now than she had that morning. Sirius was standing over her holding one of her school robes.

"How did you get into my trunk?" she asked him.

She could hear James and Peter sniggering in the background. He held up a silver clip that was sparkling in the lantern light of the compartment. She immediately recognized it as the clip that was holding her bun in place.

"Well then," she sighed. 

She put it in her pocket and let her wavy ponytail drop to below her shoulder blades. 

"You look really terrible, Lily," said James with some concern in his voice.

Peter was still laughing softly. Immediately, Sirius silenced him with a look. 

"Are you alright?" he asked, with concern in his eyes.

She smiled weakly, her skin looked very pale, and her eyes still looked as tired as they had that morning. Lily was not alright.

"Fine," she said pulling her robes over her sweater. 

"Have you even eaten at all today? Or yesterday?" James asked her, studying her face.

"Course I have, you were at dinner with me yesterday," she said laughing.

"You ate four bites of salad. It doesn't count. And you haven't had anything all day, have you. You didn't have time to eat this morning, you didn't this afternoon when the food cart came. Lily, no wonder you look so sick." James said looking a little upset.

He tried to hand her a Pumpkin Pasty, but she shook her head.

"We're going to have dinner soon, I can wait until we get there. Honestly, I'm so nervous I'd probably turn it all out on the way." They cringed. 

Ten minutes later they were standing on an extremely stormy platform. Lily now looked sicker than she had all day, shaking and pale in the buckets of rain that were falling from the sky. A huge man with mounds of bristly, tangled black hair and a large black beard stood at the end of the platform. He wore a long moleskin coat that flapped like a torn sail in a breeze.

"Firs' years, this way!" He called loudly over the howling wind.

"Come on," James nudged her lightly. 

Lily stumbled a bit then caught her balance and started walking again. They followed a long, rather narrow path. She was walking next to Sirius, her hand grasping his shoulder to steady herself if she tripped over anything. James and Remus walked closely behind them, talking quietly, while James kept an eye on Lily to be sure she hadn't gotten much worse during the walk. Peter walked behind all of them with a rather dejected look fixed over him.

"An' thas' Hogwarts," the large man said as they rounded a corner.

A small feet of boats appeared to be resting on the shore of a very large lake as they got closer to the castle.

"No more'n four ter a boat!" 

Sirius helped Lily in, followed by James and then Remus. Lily frowned as Peter stood behind the boat looking very unhappy. She tried to stand up, but was quickly drawn back down by all three of the other boys. Peter's expression grew even more gloomy as he found that the last boat with a vacancy was Severus Snape's. 

The ride went more quickly to some than others. Lily felt very ill the whole time, with the small waves making sick splashes over the trim of the tiny vessel. Sirius, James and Remus, however, spoke cheerfully through it, as though they were still on the train playing exploding snap. 

At last they were inside and starting to dry. Lily was still shaking, looking almost blue now. They stood in a straight line, just waiting. A teacher had come out of a small side room carrying a stool and a very old looking witch's hat that was quite patched and torn.

A sudden rip sliced the air. The hat began to sing, but in her nervousness, Lily hadn't noticed what it was saying. She did know about the four houses though. Sirius and James had explained about Gryffindor being for the bravest, then Hufflepuff being for the most caring (which Lily didn't think sounded so bad, if she didn't become a Gryffindor), Ravenclaw being the wisest, and the Slytherins being slimy, ungrateful gits. 

The first name was called, but Lily's ears throbbed and she could hardly hear. After about five minutes, Sirius was stepping forward. 

The hat had touched his head for only a second when it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

A Slytherin, Ravenclaw and two Hufflepuffs later, the strict looking professor who'd been calling people (Lily gathered that she was probably Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress), said "Evans, Lily!"

She felt James nudge her forward. She also thought she heard Peter sort of stumble as she took her first step. With a timid look back, she could see Remus grabbing the back of Peter's shirt looking a bit angry. She then continued walking. It seemed like ages until she got to the stool, and she was feeling quite dizzy. Lily would later remember this walk to the stool as one of the longest thirty seconds of her life. 

She picked up the torn hat gently and took a seat on the wooden stool. She placed it on her head and it covered her eyes and ears.

"My now, you seem like a nice girl. Very considerate and caring."

_Thank you…_ thought Lily. She felt quite nervous, and she felt rather dazed.

"Well then, you would do very well in Hufflepuff. But then, you've got quite a proud streak there, haven't you? Not afraid of an adventure. Maybe you'd be better suited for something a bit braver. Better make it, GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily smiled weakly and walked over to the table dressed in red and gold. She took a seat next to Sirius, and suddenly felt very sick. 

The rest of the sorting seemed to take forever. Lily felt as though she might faint for much of it. She studied the hall curiously as student after student was sorted into their house. The starry ceiling had intrigued her for several moments, the huge dark blue-gray clouds hiding the stars that would have begun forming by now.

"Lupin, Remus!" shouted Professor McGonagall.

Remus seemed to be walking towards the stool only slightly faster than she had. He nervously sat down and placed it on his head. Only a few seconds later did the hat call for him to join the Gryffindors. 

He sat next to Lily with a smile of satisfaction. Both Sirius and Lily were also smiling at him, and looking towards James and Peter hopefully. Lily noticed them looking much more worriedly at Peter than James.

Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin twice. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw twice, Slytherin. GRYFFINDOR! 

They looked up to see a smiling girl with long blondish hair and happy brown eyes walking towards the table. Her name was Imogen Olliver. She seated herself across from Sirius and smiled excitedly at them. 

Peter's name was called and he walked nervously to the stool. He placed the hat on his head and waited, shaking slightly. Remus and Sirius glanced at each other looking a bit nervous as well. It was taking quite a long time to sort him, it had been almost three full minutes before the hat called, seeming less enthusiastic, GRYFFINDOR.

Peter hurriedly took the hat from his head and placed it on the stool, then rushed to the Gryffindor table blushing furiously. 

"Potter, James!" called Professor McGonagall.

James walked nonchalantly towards the stool, placed the hat on his head, and took a seat.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted a second later.

James sat across from Lily grinning. He looked like he belonged at this table, full of confidence and talking cheerfully to his friends. James was the last Gryffindor sorted that night. They all laughed silently as Snape was made a Slytherin immediately. By the time the sorting had ended (Xander, Kiki became a Hufflepuff), Lily was sure that she was going to faint. 

Professor McGonagall took the hat and the stool away and an old man dressed in violet robes with a yellow-star spangled, violet, pointed hat perched on top of his long silvery hair. He looked at them through half-moon spectacles, while stroking his long silvery beard. His blue eyes were cheerfully looking over all of them with a sort of quiet delight.

"I am glad to see so many fine young students join us this year! Welcome, and Welcome back to all of those returned. I hope that you will all remember how important it is to treat each other with respect and kindness in this new school year. Now, without further ado, enjoy your feast!" 

This had to be the headmaster, Lily though, Professor Dumbledore. She had just looked up to notice Sirius scooping a large serving of mashed potatoes onto her plate to accompany some roast chicken and green beans. 

Lily smiled, "Thanks, mum."

"Not at all, dear," he replied grinning. James, Remus and Peter were laughing at the scene. Imogen Olliver was watching them with amusement as well. Lily and Imogen were talking happily through dinner about their lives before Hogwarts and when they got their letters. By the time they had finished with their Apple Pie, they were becoming close friends. 

That night they were led up to Gryffindor Tower by the prefect. One of them said "dragon fire" and a portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress swung forward. 

"Everyone remember that the password is Dragon Fire! You just tell the portrait and it'll open into the common room! Now classes begin tomorrow schedules will be handed out at breakfast at seven o'clock! Good night everyone!"

The girls and boys walked up their separate staircases. Lily called goodnight to James, Sirius, and Peter. Remus was no where in sight. She sighed and followed Imogen up the stairs, yawning sleepily.

She was again very excited about the day to come, but was now easily drifting off to sleep. And the next day was definitely interesting… 


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh no

"Oh no. Oh no," said Lily to herself as she scrambled out of bed. "Oh God, I'm late!"

She looked at her watch, and much to her dismay found that the hands were spinning at a hare's pace. Lily pulled on her pants, tee shirt and robes and ran out of the dormitory. She went through hallways that seemed to move with her, staircases that seemed never ending, and doors that you had to open four times before they led anyplace. 

At last Lily began to run down the great marble steps towards the Entrance Hall when—

"Oh No!" Lily cried as she sunk into a trick step. 

This was the end, she was going to be stuck on these stairs all her life, or at least until she was sunken all the way in, and then she would certainly die and then… oh then what?

"Hullo, young madame," said a dreary voice from behind her. Suddenly Lily felt as though she had been splashed with a bucket of ice water. She looked behind her to see a pearly figure dressed as though he was attending a Renaissance Fair. 

"Sir Nicholas deMimsy-Poppington." He introduced as he bowed to her. 

Lily couldn't help but gape as she watched his head swing to the side as he rose from his bow. Sir Nicholas moved to hover face-to-face with her.

"H—hu—'lo." Lily said timidly.

"You are a new Gryffindor, are you not?"

Lily nodded mutely, still looking shocked at the wobbly-headed figure. 

"Splendid! I am Gryffindor's ghostly patron. Oh! But forgive me. Are you alright?"

With that Lily's mouth snapped shut. She looked down and suddenly realized that she was still sinking deeper into the step. 

"Oh dear," she said to herself.

"Ah. Yes. Perhaps I should fetch the Headmaster," said Sir Nicholas with a bit of concern.

"No!" cried Lily. "Er… Could you… oh no," she said. She didn't want the Headmaster to have to come and pull her out of the stair case, but was it worth having James and Sirius help her? 

"Hmm?" Asked the ghost.

"Er… could you… maybe…could you find James Potter, he's got glasses and messy black hair, and is a Gryffindor First Year," she asked nervously.

Sir Nicholas agreed and returned with James, Sirius and Peter shivering behind him a few moments later.

As soon as James saw Lily he burst out laughing so hard, in fact, that tears began to stream down his face. "See then, Peter! You aren't the only one!" 

Sirius was grinning and obviously holding back laughter as well. He stood on the step below that which Lily was sinking into and put one shoulder under her arm. James did the same, still shaking with laugher, on the other side and they pulled her out roughly, causing them to tumble down the remaining eight or so steps. 

"OW!"

"OOF!"

"OH!" 

They each cried these exclamations at once. Lily and James stood up and each offered a hand to Sirius, whom they had landed upon at the bottom of the steps. Sirius took their hands and pulled them down beside him and all three burst out laughing. Peter was also laughing heartily at them from the stairs and walked down to meet them.

Finally they had all reached the Great Hall where the boys resumed their breakfasts and Lily sat down to hers. As she munched on a slice of toast, Imogen took a seat next to her and grinned.

"Where have you been? It's nearly eight o'clock and I've been looking for you!"

"I overslept," Lily said simply. 

"And she got stuck in a trick step and had to get Nearly-Headless Nick ask James to help her!" piped up Peter, laughing.

Sirius and James looked at each other with amusement and laughingly said, "Yes. Just like Peter, except that he had to yell for us."

Peter went scarlet, but was saved from further ridicule as a prefect handed down a stack of first year schedules. 

"Potions with the Slytherins. Our very first class and we have to spend it with those slimey gits."

*** *** *** ***

Professor Zathens was a young witch with black hair and gray eyes who wore long black fitted robes. She was very pretty, but looked as though she might have had a serious mean streak.

"Welcome to Beginners Potions. I do not expect you to do perfectly on your first day," she began. Peter let out a sigh, but too soon.

"No, I cannot expect you to do perfectly on your first day, because it might imply that I do not expect you to keep that standard. I expect you to do perfectly every time. Potions are a delicate art that few really appreciate, and I hope that you are among those who will learn the appreciation involved in being able to brew anything from a sleeping draught to a poison antidote."

Lily looked around the room curiously and noticed that the Slytherin boys were listening with rapt attention, particularly Severus Snape, who was anxiously clutching his quill and staring bright-eyed and open-mouthed at Professor Zathen.

"Today we will be making basic shrinking potion from shrivelfigs, daisy roots, and the rest of the ingredients that I have listed on the blackboard. I trust that you are all capable of MR. POTTER!"

James looked up guiltily from the table beside Lily and Imogen's. He was holding a very large, dead spider over the back of Sirius's robes, clearly preparing to drop it. James slowly lowered his hands to his sides and dropped the spider onto the table. A whoosh was heard from across the room and a large black bird swooped down on the table and clutched the insect. It returned to it's perch in the shadowy torch lit room, and James and Sirius looked as though they would faint any second. 

"That is Nevermore. She is my pet raven. Many think that owls are the only post method among witches, but I find that she is much more dependable. Now, Mr. Potter, for interrupting my class, ten points from Gryffindor, and detention and Mr. Black, if you do not learn to keep you tittering to yourself, then you will see another _fifteen_ missing from your house tally when you return to the Great Hall."

The rest of potions were relatively uneventful, with the exception of James and Sirius acting as though they were angels and Severus Snape tossing a frog's spleen at James when Professor Zathens had turned away for a moment.

It was the best day of school that Lily had ever had. She had made a perfect shrinking potion, made it to most of her classes on time, and learned to float a feather with a new charm. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was rapidly becoming the greatest place that Lily Evans had ever known.


End file.
